ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – They’re well-known for MMA training in Albuquerque, but a recent move by the Jackson Wink Academy has them in hot water with some military veterans. The academy is flying an American flag upside down at their downtown headquarters.
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Mike Winkeljohn of “Jackson Wink” told KRQE News 13 on Wednesday he put the flag upside down on Monday. Veteran organizations KRQE News 13 spoke to Wednesday say they want to see the flag corrected because they call it disrespectful.
“Display it the right way, if you’re going to display a flag display it the right way,” said Post Commander John Lopez, Veterans of Foreign Wars.
“What message are you trying to send out? That I can do whatever I want with our flag? Just display it right,” said Lopez.
He served in the New Mexico National Guard for eleven years and did one tour in Iraq. He says for vets, the flag being upside down has a different meaning. “It’d be like if we’re in a combat zone and we see a base with its flag upside down meaning they need some serious help. They’re either getting severely attacked or they need supplies or something because they can’t get to it,” said Lopez.
But the owners of Jackson Wink say offending veterans is the last thing they intended. Instead, they were hoping to shed light on the state of the country, which they say is suffering from things like inflation, immigration, and homelessness.
“I believe the country being in distress is any time human lives are in danger. Drugs and crime, you know properties in danger. Those types of things are very important, and we all need to talk about that,” said Mike Winkeljohn, owner of Jackson Wink MMA Academy.
Other veterans KRQE News 13 spoke to say they don’t agree with how the establishment went about expressing their views. “If you want to show concern, there’s other ways to do it, but displaying the United States flag upside down, that’s a sign of disrespect and I know other veterans that are within the American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars, they would agree with me 100%,” said Post Commander Damon Davis, American Legion Post 100.
In response to veteran’s concerns, Mike Winkeljohn says he’s sorry. “If it was distressful to them having the flag upside down, I apologize to them about that, but I think it’s an important thing to open up a conversation to make this a better country for everybody,” said Winkeljohn.
KRQE News 13 asked Winklejohn when he’d be willing to fix the flag, but he said he would need to discuss it with his fellow employees, but he’s also willing to speak with veterans.
The upside-down American flag has caused controversy in other parts of the country. The biggest was one flown outside the home of Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito.
